Middle East Needs to Green Up

Governments around the Middle East are being asked to pass regulations that will encourage logistics firms to integrate sustainable practices into their operations. This was one of the subjects discussed at the UN Climate Change Conference.

Held in Abu Dhabi last month, the 2ndAnnual Global Logistics Forum reached a “unanimous agreement” on how crucial it is for the region’s countries to adopt “sustainable and green practices in logistics operations.” But even stronger than the recommendation was the call to the region’s governments to pass laws to help firms initiate such moves.

Not Easy Being Green

However, despite this idea and the new regulations, doing this in practice, might not be so simple. According to TU Berlin chair of Logistics, MD Dr. Frank Straube, the implementation of these sustainable moves are complicated, especially since currently there are no set standards on their application. Ultimately, laws need to be enforced, since “human morality” has proved inadequate to solve the global warming issue. Thus it has become the collective responsibility of the region to analyze the current methods being used to decrease the “carbon footprint” of this industry. One way of doing that is through enforced governmental regulations as well as “find[ing] a correlation between the GDP and CO2 emissions.”

Financial Impediments?

There is a myth that has been floating around for way too long that it is pricey to implement such green initiatives. But according to global consulting firm Booz & Company partner Dr. Walid Fayad, this is inaccurate. Indeed, the governments that “take a positive approach to GHG management can extend benefits beyond profit.”